| AFTER breaking into the win column of the 2008 Smart PBA Fiesta Conference, it’s back to the doldrums for Barangay Ginebra.
Steve Thomas had a game-high 37 points, 22 rebounds and emerged the better import in his matchup with Chris Alexander, powering Air21 Express to a rousing 97-88 win over the Kings Wednesday night at the Araneta Coliseum. The 6-foot-10 Thomas punctuated perhaps his best game of the conference by going 10-of-18 from the field and 17-of-22 from the foul line in a performance that frustrated the throng of Ginebra fans – including reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa – who trooped to the Big Dome.
The loss was a big blow for the Kings who are coming off a thrilling 102-99 win opposite Purefoods for their first victory in the season-ending conference. They further fell to the bottom of the standings with a 1-6 record.
“Steve Thomas held his ground against Chris Alexander,” said Air21 mentor Bo Perasol following the Express’ fourth win in seven games. “The bottomline for us was to control their transition offense because their backcourt always tries to push the ball.”
Jayjay Helterbrand paced the Kings with 19 points, Alexander had 18 and 24 rebounds and Mark Caguioa finished with 16 markers.
Eric Menk finally came on board for the league’s most popular team after missing the Kings’ first six games owing to a leg injury. He scored 8 points – all in the third period – and grabbed 6 rebounds in 18 minutes of play.
Unfortunately, none among them came through when the Express were in the midst of a big fourth quarter run that turned a hard-fought game around. The contest featured 12 deadlocks and 23 lead changes.
With the scored tied at 82, Ranidel de Ocampo scored on back-to-back baskets to lead a telling 8-1 Air21 run that made it a 90-83 game.
Caguioa hit a trey at the 2:24 mark, sparking hopes of a possible Ginebra comeback as the Kings closed in 86-90.
But Arwind Santos answered back with a three-pointer of his own, before Wynne Arboleda scored on a one-hander runner to douse off the rally, 95-86.
Arboleda led all Air21 locals with 15 points, Nino Canaleta had 13 and de Ocampo 11.
The first half was just as tightly fought.
After 12 minutes of play, the scored was tied at 23. It was 43-all late in the second quarter before the Kings closed out the period with a 6-3 run to take a slim 49-48 lead with them to the locker room.
The game already had three deadlocks and six lead changes by halftime.
Thomas accounted for half of the Express’ output with 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 11-of-12 stint from the foul line. He also had 9 rebounds. (GR)
The scores:
Air21 97 – Thomas 37, Arboleda 15, Canaleta 13, De Ocampo 11, Santos 7, Cruz 5, Billones 5, Se 4, Kramer 0, Sotto 0, David 0.
Ginebra 88 – Helterbrand 19, Alexander 18, Caguioa 16, Menk 8, Tubid 7, Valenzuela 5, Crisano 5, Artadi 4, Mamaril 4, Salvacion 2, Pablo 0.
Quarterscores: 23-23, 48-49, 75-78, 97-88. |
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